Category: Finance
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Challenge Seeks Interventions for Epilepsy
14 August 2015. In a new challenge on InnoCentive, the Epilepsy Foundation is seeking methods and interventions to reduce sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, or SUDEP. The competition has a purse of $30,000 and deadline for submissions of 13 October 2015. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowdsourcing competitions for corporate and organization sponsors. Free…
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Blood Disease Biotech Gains $120 Million in IPO
12 August 2015. Global Blood Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing treatments for blood-related disorders, is raising $120 million in its initial public stock offering. The company, in South San Francisco, California and trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol GBT, issued 6 million shares priced at $20.00. Shares closed today trading at $43.50, more…
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Protein Gels Being Devised to Simulate Human Functions
12 August 2015. New York University’s engineering school is developing a new type of protein-based gel materials that respond to and replicate natural biochemical processes. The three-year project, led by chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Jin Kim Montclare, is funded by a $368,000 grant from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. Montclare and colleagues, at NYU’s…
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Intrexon Acquires Oxitec, Partners on Genetic Disorder
10 August 2015. Intrexon Corp., a biotechnology company specializing in synthetic biology, is acquiring Oxitec Ltd., a designer of genetically modified insects to control the spread of disease-bearing and agricultural pests for $160 million. Intrexon is also partnering with Synthetic Biologics Inc. to develop therapies for phenylketonuria, a genetic metabolic disorder. Intrexon, in Gaithersburg, Maryland…
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Peanut Allergy Therapy Company Raises $160 Million in IPO
6 August 2015. Aimmune Therapeutics Inc., a developer of treatments for peanut and other food allergies, raised $160 million from its initial public stock offering, pricing its 10 million shares at $16.00. Shares in the Brisbane, California company trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol AIMT. Shares closed today (6 August), priced at $24.10…
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Gates Expands Collaboration with RNA Vaccine Maker
4 August 2015. CureVac, a designer of vaccines and therapies based on messenger RNA — genetic signals sent from DNA to a person’s cells — is expanding its partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to include a third viral disease affecting low-resource regions. Financial details of the new collaboration between the Gates Foundation…
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Allergan Acquires Depression Therapy Developer for $560M
27 July 2015. Pharmaceutical maker Allergan plc is acquiring Naurex Inc., a designer of fast-acting therapies for depression and other neurological disorders, for $560 million. The deal covers Naurex’s products now in clinical trials, with the company’s technology platform and preclinical research spun-off into a new enterprise. Naurex, a spin-off company from Northwestern University in…
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Global Threat Identification Methods Sought in Challenge
24 July 2015. A new challenge on InnoCentive is seeking techniques for identifying climatic events in one region that have direct or indirect impacts elsewhere in the world. The competition has a total purse of $30,000 and deadline for submissions of 17 September 2015. InnoCentive in Waltham, Massachusetts conducts open-innovation, crowdsourcing competitions for corporate and…
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Research, Finance Alliance to Fast-Track Alzheimer’s Drugs
24 July 2015. A coalition of research institute, venture capital firm, and drug discovery company is forming a new enterprise to develop therapy candidates for Alzheimer’s disease from promising lab results. Financial terms of the partnership of Gladstone Institutes and Dolby Family Ventures in San Francisco with Evotec AG in Hamburg, Germany were not disclosed.…
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Navy Seeks Graphene Nanoribbons for Electricity Distribution
20 July 2015. The U.S. Navy wants a more efficient way to distribute electric power on its ships, and believes ultrathin ribbons made of graphene may help them do it. The Office of Naval Research awarded an $800,000 grant to the lab led by engineering professor Cemal Basaran at University at Buffalo to find out more…